📺 Can we turn back now?
Happy Thursday! Are you the kind of person that holds onto summer as long as possible, or the kind that has already whipped out autumn decor from T.J. Maxx, pumpkin spice latte in hand? Network TV is definitely on team PSL — scroll to the end to see the mountain of shows returning for their fall premieres this week.
In today’s edition:
LOTR: The Rings of Power
Great News
Partner Track
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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Our thoughts on brand new shows that we watched, and where you can watch them.
If you’re starved for fantasy and adventure, try… Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Keywords: fantasy, drama, prequel
Watch if you like: Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time
Jenni’s Rating: B-
Beginning thousands of years before Frodo’s adventures, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power sets out to tell the history of the forging of the rings themselves, the rise of Sauron, and the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor.
This show is textbook visually stunning. Tolkien’s world is already one I would gladly get lost in and so far, The Rings of Power is delivering twofold. Glorious landscapes, epic battles, elf vs. human political intrigue — I already like it so much more than House of Dragons, the other fantasy prequel series released in the last month.
Sure, there are some pompous bits, and one or two pretentious acting choices, and I’m sure if you’re a religious Silmarillion reader you have a bone or two to pick with changes to the source material that I haven’t noticed, but all in all, you can count this as a fantasy series I’m excited to come home to watch every Friday night.
— Jenni
Length: 65-min runtime, 3 episodes out so far with new ones on Fridays
Watch on: Amazon Prime
Where we highlight shows that have long-since ended or been canceled, that are well-worth digging back up.
Great News (2017-2018)
Keywords: workplace sitcom, offbeat, satire
Watch if you like: 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Parks and Rec
Jess’s Rating: B
Great News isn’t my favorite sitcom of all time, but it’s hardly known, and I think that’s a shame. I first found out about it a year after it had been cancelled, when Jenni told me that she’d just watched both seasons on Netflix and recommended it. Having never heard of it, I was shocked to find out that it was executive produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the iconic team behind Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and 30 Rock. Tina Fey even makes a few appearances in the second season.
The sitcom follows Katie, a producer at a cable news network, who has high hopes of producing hard-hitting segments but instead gets stuck with fluff pieces such as “Are you Snapchatting your Vacation Wrong?” Her day-to-day struggles become even more complicated when her overbearing mother, played by Andrea Martin, joins the network as its newest intern.
This show is pure Fey/Carlock goodness: satirical, wacky, irreverent, fast-paced. It’s the kind of sitcom that you immediately want to re-watch to catch all of the references and one-liners that flew past you initially. Andrea Martin is a delight to watch, and I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that Nicole Richie, playing Katie’s co-worker, has excellent comedic timing. If you loved 30 Rock, you should absolutely give this a watch.
— Jess
Length: 20-min runtime, 2 seasons / 23 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
Where we feature a show that you may have been tempted to check out, but we’re here to tell you…it might not be worth it. 🤷♀️
Partner Track
Keywords: “legal” drama, soapy, romance
Jenni’s Rating: D
Based on a Helen Wan novel of the same name, Partner Track centers on Ingrid Yun (Arden Cho), a young Mergers & Acquisitions lawyer who struggles with her moral compass as she tries to make partner at an elite NYC law firm.
This show is a legal drama in the loosest sense of the term. It’s a bit like someone mixed the New York deification of Sex and the City with the workaholic nature of Grey’s Anatomy and a sprinkle of Suits-esque legal jargon topped with a cherry of romances and characters you don’t want to root for.
Most everyone in this show is underdeveloped and bland. The only people I cared about even a little while watching this series were Ingrid’s younger sister, her friend Tyler, and the paralegal Justin. None of whom, unfortunately, had enough screen time to redeem this book adaptation. I would only recommend that someone watch Partner Track if they were in the mood for a Hallmark Christmas movie level romcom, but in a secular tv-show format.
— Jenni
Length: 40-min runtime, 1 season / 10 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
Your shows, returned:
Atlanta, Season 4: Premieres September 15 on FX/Hulu
Fate: The Winx Saga, Season 2: Premieres September 16 on Netflix
The Great British Baking Show, Season 13: Premieres September 16 on Netflix
9-1-1, Season 6: Premieres September 19 on Fox
Bob Hearts Abishola, Season 4: Premieres September 19 on CBS
The Cleaning Lady, Season 2: Premieres September 19 on Fox
Dancing with the Stars, Season 31: Premieres September 19 on Disney+
NCIS, Season 20: Premieres September 19 on CBS
NCIS: Hawaii, Season 2: Premieres September 19 on CBS
The Neighborhood, Season 5: Premieres September 19 on CBS
The Voice, Season 22: Premieres September 19 on NBC
New Amsterdam, Season 5: Premieres September 20 on NBC
The Resident, Season 6: Premieres September 20 on Fox
FBI, Season 5: Premieres September 20 on CBS
FBI: Most Wanted, Season 4: Premieres September 20 on CBS
FBI: International, Season 2: Premieres September 20 on CBS
Abbott Elementary, Season 2: Premieres September 21 on ABC
The Amazing Race, Season 34: Premieres September 21 on CBS
Big Sky, Season 3: Premieres September 21 on ABC
Chicago Fire, Season 11: Premieres September 21 on NBC
Chicago Med, Season 8: Premieres September 21 on NBC
Chicago P.D., Season 10: Premieres September 21 on NBC
The Conners, Season 5: Premieres September 21 on ABC
The Goldbergs, Season 10: Premieres September 21 on ABC
Home Economics, Season 3: Premieres September 21 on ABC
Lego Masters, Season 3: Premieres September 21 on Fox
The Masked Singer, Season 8: Premieres September 21 on Fox
Survivor, Season 43: Premieres September 21 on CBS
The Kardashians, Season 2: Premieres September 22 on Hulu
Law & Order, Season 22: Premieres September 22 on NBC
Law & Order: Organized Crime, Season 3: Premieres September 22 on NBC
Law & Order: SVU, Season 24: Premieres September 22 on NBC
Upcoming new releases:
Vampire Academy: Premieres September 15 on Peacock
Quantum Leap: Premieres September 19 on NBC
Reboot: Premieres September 20 on Hulu
Andor: Premieres September 21 on Disney+